2009 may well be remembered for its scandal-ridden
headlines, from admissions of extramarital affairs by
governors and senators, to corporate executives flying
private jets while cutting employee benefits, and most recently, to a mysterious early
morning car crash in Florida. The past year has been marked
by a series of moral transgressions by powerful figures in
political, business and celebrity circles.

A new
study explores why powerful people many of whom take a
moral high ground dont practise what they preach.

Researchers sought to determine whether power inspires
hypocrisy, the tendency to hold high standards for others
while performing morally suspect behaviours oneself. The
research found that power makes people stricter in moral
judgment of others while going easier on themselves.

The research was conducted by Joris Lammers and
Diederik A. Stapel of Tilburg University in the Netherlands,
and by Adam Galinsky of the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The article is to
appear in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science.

This research is especially relevant to the
biggest scandals of 2009, as we look back on how private
behaviour often contradicted the public stance of particular
individuals in power, said Galinsky.For instance, we saw
some politicians use public funds for private benefits while
calling for smaller government, or have extramarital affairs
while advocating family values. Similarly, we witnessed CEOs
of major financial institutions accepting executive bonuses
while simultaneously asking for government bailout money.

According to our research, power and influence can
cause a severe disconnect between public judgment and
private behaviour, and as a result, the powerful are
stricter in their judgment of others while being more
lenient toward their own actions, he continued.

Power Promotes Hypocrisy, Study Finds

Posted by :EdMo

2009 may well be remembered for its scandal-ridden headlines, from admissions of extramarital
affairs by governors and senators, to corporate executives flying private jets while cutting
employee benefits, and most recently, to a
mysterious early morning car crash in Florida. The past year has been marked by a series of moral
transgressions by powerful figures in political, business and celebrity circles.

A new
study explores why powerful people many of whom take a moral high ground dont practise what they
preach.

Researchers sought to determine whether power inspires hypocrisy, the tendency
to hold high standards for others while performing morally suspect behaviours oneself. The research
found that power makes people stricter in moral judgment of others while going easier on
themselves.

The research was conducted by Joris Lammers and Diederik A. Stapel of Tilburg
University in the Netherlands, and by Adam Galinsky of the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The article is to appear in a forthcoming issue of
Psychological Science.

This research is especially relevant to the biggest scandals of
2009, as we look back on how private behaviour often contradicted the public stance of particular
individuals in power, said Galinsky.For instance, we saw some politicians use public funds for
private benefits while calling for smaller government, or have extramarital affairs while advocating
family values. Similarly, we witnessed CEOs of major financial institutions accepting executive
bonuses while simultaneously asking for government bailout money.

According to our
research, power and influence can cause a severe disconnect between public judgment and private
behaviour, and as a result, the powerful are stricter in their judgment of others while being more
lenient toward their own actions, he continued.

To simulate an experience of
power, the researchers assigned roles of high-power and low-power positions to a group of study
participants. Some were assigned the role of prime minister and others civil servant. The
participants were then presented with moral dilemmas related to breaking traffic rules, declaring
taxes, and returning a stolen bike.

Through a series of five
experiments, the researchers examined the impact of power on moral hypocrisy. For example, in one
experiment the powerful participants condemned the cheating of others while cheating more
themselves. High-power participants also tended to condemn over-reporting of travel expenses. But,
when given a chance to cheat on a dice game to win lottery tickets (played alone in a private
cubicle), the powerful people reported winning a higher amount of lottery tickets than did low-power
participants.

Three additional experiments further examined the degree to which powerful
people accept their own moral transgressions versus those committed by others. In all cases, those
assigned to high-power roles showed significant hypocrisy by more strictly judging others for
speeding, dodging taxes and keeping a stolen bike, while finding it more acceptable to engage in
these behaviours themselves, the researchers said.

Galinsky said hypocrisy has its
greatest impact among people who are legitimately powerful. In contrast, a fifth experiment found
that people who dont feel personally entitled to their power are actually harder on themselves than
they are on others, a phenomenon the researchers dubbed hypercrisy. The tendency to be harder on the
self than on others also characterized the powerless in multiple studies.

Ultimately,
patterns of hypocrisy and hypercrisy perpetuate social inequality. The powerful impose rules and
restraints on others while disregarding these restraints for themselves, whereas the powerless
collaborate in reproducing social inequality because they donot feel the same entitlement,Galinsky
concluded.